New member with another new equipment question

[JackieMoon]

G'day all,

Brand new here , sensational forum you have here.

My question is I am in the process of researching my first scope and after reading several posts on this forum I am thinking a 6-8" dob is for me.

I have only around $300 to spend at the moment , should I dive into a cheapy or hold out for a few months and spend around $500? If I am still interested down the track I would be happy spend a lot more.

In the meantime I am enjoying a good old pair of binoculars and some online astronomy reading.

Any recommendations on a good beginner book.

Cheers

[barx1963]

Hi Jackie and welcome to IIS!!:welcome:

Well done on getting out and using the binos. THere are lots of objects that can be found and enjoyed with a pair of 10x50 binos. Scope wise $300 is a fairly limited budget so the main object should be to get the best "bang for your buck"! Smaller dobs are the way to go. Please avoid the really small table top ones. They are in a lot of cases gimmicks.
A new 6" dob can be had for a bit over $300 at Bintel or you can shop around. 8" is definitely better but you will be looking at at least $500. The main commercial models you see around are all pretty good (GSO, Bintel, Skywatcher, Saxon) it often comes down to price and accessories.

A good basic guide is this http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories/Books--Charts-and-Software/Collins-Stars---Planets/478/productview.aspx and I can recommend these http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories/Books--Charts-and-Software/Star-Chart-Laminated---CD-ROM/655/productview.aspx as a great starter set of charts. I have my copy I bought 5 years ago and still use them nearly every night to get my bearing around the constellations and the brighter DSOs. I laminated mine and put the in a folder to protect them

Get a red headlamp to preserve night vision and enable you to read charts. Also try to spend time naked eye observing. It is fun just tracing out the the Constellations and seeing the various open cluster and DSOs that are visible without a scope.

Cheers

Malcolm

[moonunit]

There's a second hand 10" Dob for sale in the trade section, don't buy anything less than a 10"

[StutzJr]

I bought the Skywatcher 6" f/8 dobsonian from Bintel a few months ago and I am very happy with the unit and its capability. It was easy to put together and worked perfectly right out of the box requiring no collimation or adjustment. I am happily learning the basics at my own pace and have had the unit out in my backyard almost every weekend since I got it. It's not too heavy and is able to fit in the back seat of the car in the box.
The eyepieces it came with are ok but once I decided what I wanted it didn't cost much at all to buy a 15 mm plossl eyepiece ~$35 and 2.5 x barlow lens ~$45 for great moon and planetary views. I have since upgraded the scopefinder to a right angle 8x50 correct image finder ~$85 but to me it was worth it for the convenience of being able to find what I was looking for without craning my neck down behind the finder.
I don't regret going for the 6" unit at all and I think I still have a lot to learn about what I can see now before considering any future upgrades.

[2stroke]

A 8" dob is perfect it all comes down to lugging it around. My Favorite was a 6", great for planetary and most dso's and bright neb. The 6" was great because it was easy to move around the place and could be lifted in 1 piece unlike the 10" which needed 2 people or to be pulled down. Now that we no longer have the 6" we tend to spend less time viewing because the 12" goto is just to much hassle for my wife and myself to move and setup. My wife now has to take a friend to public the mpas if i don't go because she can't lift it by her self. We also owned a 10" and it was a living hell moving that about also, so i would go a 6" or 8" at most when starting out.

Personally grab the 6", use the change on a nice wide feild eyepiece and you tons of enjoyment. The 12" goto now lives in the telescope room and is only taken out to viewing nights for public member to look through and rare planetary imaging seasons, this is because we are turned off by lugging it outside. People get aperture fever like the poster above saying get a 10", trust me later on if you get it you can sell your 6" and upgrade to a bigger scope and you won't loose out much from your pocket.

If your a small built female and don't work out at the gym differently get the 6"over the 8" as the turn of off from lugging it about won't be an issue.

[Forgey]

Welcome Jackie.

My first telescope was 10" dob and when i think back now I wish I had got a 6" or 8". The main reason is the 10" is big and bulky and unless you have someone to help to move it out the back you are going to struggle. My husband had to help me move it every time I wanted to use it, even moving it 2 pieces was a struggle.

I managed to pick up a secondhand 6" and it was used more than the 10" as I could easily pick it up and move it by myself.
Bright nebula, clusters, planets and the moon in the 10" were easily viewable in the 6" .

Depending on your location, try and get to a astronomy viewing night and have a look at the range of telescopes people use.

[GraemeT]

Hi Jackie,
I'll second a lot of the advice about smaller dobs. I have had an 8" collapsible dob for several years and have only scratched the surface of things it can do. Sure, a 10" will give you brighter images, but at the cost of portability. I can handle my scope, with a bad back, into and out of my car, and the base that I upgraded to goto, still fits through the back door, just.
Spending the savings on better eyepieces will enhance your experiences. It will pay you to try out lifting various scopes and mounts, remembering that the friendly salesman won't be at that dark site to help you set up.
Good luck with your final decision.

[2stroke]

+1 on the doors and knocking your finder and collimation out haha, also the small the scope the less collimation is needed to be done.

[barx1963]

The choice of aperture with dobs is a point of (nearly) endless discussion. I have owned an 8" and 12" solid tube and now use a 20" truss dob. When I got the 8" I thought it was big but it was easy to handle and move about. Even if I was a "small built female" (I'm not BTW) I feel it could be easily handled. The 12" on the other hand was a considerable increase in work to move around.
I ended up building a trolley (see http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=47433 ) which made life a lot easier.
Really you need to balance a whole bunch of factors in amking a decision. If you are content to only occasionally view some bright showpiece objects - small scope, if you want to hunt for obscure galaxies or planetary nebs - big scope. If you only want to observe when the fancy takes you - small scope, if you are a passionate observer keen to make the most of every clear night - big scope may suit. If you have fitness issues - small scope. If you have budget limitations - small scope.
Others may be storage space, spouses attitude to having a big lump of gear in the house, size of your car, is observing being done at home or away.
There is no one right answer, just think about it and get the right size for you!!

Finally 2 points.
1. There are plenty of female observers using scopes bigger than 6". So lets put an end to the silly stereotyping. Good thing JJJ and Petra are OS at the moment!
2. Lets focus on the individual. Statements like "don't get smaller than a 10" " and similar statements only serve to confuse.

Malcolm

[2stroke]

It's more the turn off of moving the thing Malcolm as a beginner and its a true fact that females arn't meet to lift more then 10kg/15kg, this was a workplace law only a few years back and only removed because of PC idiots. Theres a lot of chicks out there which are way stronger then me though on average men are stronger, its a biological fact not a PC debate.

Anyhow Jackie ask the salesman if you can move one about before buying, that way you can gauge what suites your limits weight wise. You could also build a trolly though with my home this can't be done without leaving the scope in the shed, which i would not do due to moister.

[Poita]

Yeah, my biggest regret was selling my C8 (8" SCT scope). I used it *all* the time as it was so portable. Used to chuck it in the car when we went camping with the kids, would carry it outside to look at anything, any time.

Now I have no real issues lifting a C14 up onto a GEM, however I found that even with a 12" scope I hardly ever go outside anymore, it was just that extra bit unweildy and took up more space in the car and was quite simply just more hassle.

If you only have $300 to spend, try to get something 2nd hand, it will usually come with advice and extras :)

But yeah, I would be physically lugging a sample around before buying and asking whether you are going to want to drag it outside each night. For me an 8" is the sweet spot, great views and still really portable. I'd love a 16" scope if I could set it up permanently, but if it has to be moved around... You know what they say, the best scope is the one you use the most.

[naskies]

I decided on my 10" collapsible Dob based on walking into the astro shop, picking up each Dob in turn starting with the 6", and finding the biggest one that I could walk at least 20 metres carrying on my own, unaided. That ended up being the 10" one :)

[spacezebra]

20" SDM..says it all...:-)

Cheers Petra d